Materialism, pressure to achieve, perfectionism, and disconnection are combining to create a perfect storm that is devastating children of privilege and their parents alike.In this eye-opening, provocative, and essential book, clinical psychologist Madeline Levine explodes one child-rearing myth after another. With empathy and candor, she identifies toxic cultural influences and well-intentioned, but misguided, parenting practices that are detrimental to a child's healthy self-development. Her thoughtful, practical advice provides solutions that will enable parents to help their emotionally troubled "star" child cultivate an authentic sense of self.

    A clinical psychologist and Jewish educator use the Torah and other Jewish texts to offer psychological and practical insights into parenting and sharing practical advice on how to develop realistic expectations for each child, teach respect for adults, deal with frustration, enhance independence, and more.

    With a little patience, presence, and skill, you can transform nearly any meal into a baby-friendly food. Who knew a little planning could have the whole family eating together and better?In the past, humans thrived without “baby food” (which came about in the mid-nineteenth century). Think about it: the human race has made it this far largely on whole food. Only in recent decades have we begun overthinking and over-processing our foods, which has led to chronic dieting, chronic disease, disordered eating, body distrust, and epidemic confusion about the best way to feed ourselves and families. Eating is an innate skill that has been overcomplicated by marketing schemes and a dieting culture.We, as humans, are Born to Eat, and it seems only natural for us to start at the beginning—babies are born to eat, too. When babies show signs of readiness for solid foods, they can eat what we eat and become healthy, happy eaters in the process. By honoring self-regulation (also an innate skill) and focusing on a whole food foundation, we foster healthier children and families.Aside from the United States, almost every other country is accepting of this approach, known as baby-led weaning. With advice, instructions, and recipes from nutritionist and wellness experts Wendy Jo Peterson and Leslie Schilling, you can ensure that your infant is introduced to healthy and tasty food as early as possible.

    Reading aloud offers us a chance to be fully present with our children. It also increases our kids’ academic success, inspires compassion, and fortifies them with the inner strength they need to face life’s challenges. As Sarah Mackenzie has found with her own six children, reading aloud long after kids are able to read to themselves can deepen relationships in a powerful way.Founder of the immensely popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Sarah knows first-hand how reading can change a child’s life. In The Read-Aloud Family, she offers the inspiration and age-appropriate book lists you need to start a read-aloud movement in your own home. From a toddler’s wonder to a teenager’s resistance, Sarah details practical strategies to make reading aloud a meaningful family ritual. Reading aloud not only has the power to change a family—it has the power to change the world.

    Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class, nationality or family background. But it’s not just about bedtime stories for little kids: Reading aloud consoles, uplifts and invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional well-being of teenagers and adults, too.Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it’s an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures.Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most.

    Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison, both married to Dutchmen and bringing up their kids in Holland, examine the unique environment that enables the Dutch to turn out such contented, well-adjusted and healthy babies, children and teens. Read this book if you want to find out what lessons you can learn from Dutch parents, to ensure your kids turn out happy!

    Boyack Fun and practical, author Merrilee Boycak will have readers laughing out loud as well as feeling grateful for her parenting advice. She s a mom who s spent the last 22 years in the real-life work of parenting. "I have four sons, 13, 15, 17, and 22. You know what that means," she writes. "I m an absolute expert in raising children 23 and older." Merrilee offers the "LDS parenting owner s manual they forgot to give you" for training kids - from toddlers to teens - to be independent. It includes ideas for how to teach kids about money, investing, debt, and the importance of earning their own money; how to teach children to serve; how to help children with emotional and spiritual development; and much more.

    Why don't our kids do what we want them to do? Parents often take the blame for misbehavior, but this obscures a broader trend: in our modern, highly connected age, children have less self-control than ever. About half of the current generation of children will develop a mood or behavioral disorder or a substance addiction by age eighteen. Contemporary kids need to learn independence and responsibility, yet our old ideas of punishments and rewards are preventing this from happening. To stem this growing crisis of self-regulation, journalist and parenting expert Katherine Reynolds Lewis articulates what she calls The Apprenticeship Model, a new theory of discipline that centers on learning the art of self-control. Blending new scientific research and powerful individual stories of change, Lewis shows that, if we trust our children to face consequences, they will learn to adapt and moderate their own behavior. She watches as chaotic homes become peaceful, bewildered teachers see progress, and her own family grows and evolves in light of these new ideas. You'll recognize your own family in Lewis's sensitive, realistic stories, and you'll find a path to making everyone in your home more capable, kinder, and happier -- including yourself.

    You find your feelings swinging between joy and uncertainty, intense love and anxiety, laughter and tears. Through it all, you constantly ask yourself, “Am I the only one who feels this way?” The Magic of Motherhood will reassure you that you’re not alone. Full of encouragement, humor, and wisdom that will speak to you right where you are, The Magic of Motherhood is like a long-overdue coffee date with your best girlfriend.In this book you’ll find heartwarming essays about identity, adoption, body image, miscarriage, friendship, faith, infertility, and more. The Magic of Motherhood is a curated collection of honest stories that weave together the love, joy, and magnificent heartache of motherhood. Instead of offering advice, the writers offer something even better: their hearts.The Magic of Motherhood is a love letter to mothers everywhere; it’s a story about the magic that happens in between calm and chaos, the joy that can be found in both beauty and mess, and the valuable lessons we learn about ourselves in between cups of reheated coffee and kitchen tables covered in crumbs.Find a new strength, beauty, and sisterhood you never believed possible in The Magic of Motherhood, an inspiring and encouraging book written for an imperfect, trying-her-best mom just like you.A letter to my pre-mom self / Ashlee Gadd --In defense of mom jeans / Callie R. Feyen --The things that come around again / Elena Krause --Asking for help / Lesley Miller --The woman in the hall / April Hoss --Wonder woman / Anna Quinlan --Being the village / Anna Jordan --Hidden gift / Ashlee Gadd --Seven pounds of redemption / N'tima Preusser --Which sweater? / Melanie Dale --The glitter and the glue / Anna Quinlan --The mom they need / Katie Blackburn --Bad math / April Hoss --Profile of a superhero / Callie R. Feyen --Trust and forgotten lunches / Lesley Miller --A sky full of grace / Ashlee Gadd --I'm gonna need backup / Anna Jordan --A break in the clouds / Katie Blackburn --When love feels heavy / N'tima Preusser --Bad words / Melanie Dale --Blackbird, fly / Callie R. Feyen --Climbing mountains / Elena Krause --The family baby / Lesley Miller --Mommy has two arms / Anna Jordan --Still us / Ashlee Gadd --Anxious / N'tima Preusser --A lot of both / Elena Krause --The invisible thread / Anna Quinlan --Reckless / April Hoss --The Pacific / N'tima Preusser --My body is yours / Melanie Dale --It's their day too / Katie Blackburn --This time around / Lesley Miller

    It’s no wonder childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the last thirty years. As a result, by the time most people reach adulthood, they’re already wired to overeat. Family nutrition expert Eileen Behan posits that good nutrition and good eating habits start on day one. The Baby Food Bible features a guide to more than 100 foods recommended for infants and toddlers based on the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, tells parents when to introduce these foods into a child's diet, and emphasizes the importance of setting healthy eating routines that center on family meals at the dining room table–the perfect time to build good habits. In a clear, accessible style, Behan describes how to:• foster an appetite for a healthy variety of new foods (there’s more to life than string cheese)• avoid everyday pitfalls, such as relying on too much fruit juice or labeling your child a picky eater • establish a meal and snack schedule (children will feel more secure and eat better)• decipher the many labels and ingredient lists at the grocery store• prevent and treat common food-related issues, including allergies, colic, choking, and iron deficiency• encourage the foods that will discourage chronic disease, from high blood pressure to heart diseaseThe Baby Food Bible also features an alphabetized index–from apples to zucchini–that explains how to buy, store, prepare, and serve more than 100 foods, with delicious recipes for every meal, wholesome snack ideas, and advice for eating out. There’s no better way to ensure your child will grow up to have a happy and healthy life!

    Her mission is to let parents know that there are other ways to cope with a toddler apart from putting him or her on the naughty step or resorting to controlled crying. This book will fill a gap in the market, helping parents enjoy their toddlers, understand the limitations of current popular toddler parenting methods such as sticker charts and time out, and to have the confidence to ignore the current mainstream 'experts' and parent their own child with trust and empathy. Chapters include: Why toddlers are not mini-adults; the importance of night-time parenting; coping with a picky eater; communication - toddler style; avoiding difficult situations; the importance of unconditional love and why you don't need to be permissive to parent respectfully.

    And here's your first hint: Focus on what you can be doing for her rather than what's happening to her.She's pregnant. She knows that. You know that. And her 152 baby books tell her exactly what she can expect. Your job is to learn what you can do between the stick turning blue and the drive to the delivery room to make the next nine months go as smoothly as possible. That's where John Pfeiffer steps in. Like any good coach, he's been through it. He's dealt with the morning sickness and doctor visits, painting the baby's nursery and packing the overnight bag, choosing a name, hospital, and the color of the car-seat cover. All the while he remained positive and responsive - there with a "You're beautiful" when necessary - but assertive during the decision-making process (he didn't want to wind up with a kid named Percy). And now it's your turn.She might be having the baby, but you have plenty of responsibilities.

    But she didn't expect to be lectured for slipping her fussing toddler a snack, or to be forbidden from packing her older daughter a school lunch. Karen is intrigued by the fact that French children happily eat everything—from beets to broccoli, from salad to spinach—while French obesity rates are a fraction of what they are in North America.Karen soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children. Some of the rules call into question both our eating habits and our parenting styles. Other rules evoke commonsense habits that we used to share but have somehow forgotten. Taken together, the rules suggest that we need to dramatically rethink the way we feed children, at home and at school.Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and appetizing recipes—including Zucchini and Spinach Puree and Bouillabaisse (Fish Soup) for Babies—French Kids Eat Everything is a humorous, provocative look at families, food, and children that is filled with inspiration and advice that every parent can use.

    Yet when the baby finally arrives and you are left to face the weeks of unpredictability and worry that a newborn baby brings, there are no week-by-week baby manuals to offer the advice, information and reassurance you need.Your Baby Week By Week is the guide you've been crying out for. Each chapter covers just one week of a baby's development, and, ideal for tired and anxious parents, the week is divided into sections so that you can quickly and easily skim the chapter and find the information you're looking for. It covers the basics - sleep, feeding, crying, washing, play and development - as well as being packed full of vital information and handy tips for checking a baby's progress, including:- which vaccinations he needs and when- how much milk/feeds he needs- planning ahead- specific problems you may encounter, such as colic, and how to deal with themClearly laid out and written by two experienced mothers - one a paediatrician, the other the Daily Mirror's health editor, this is a reassuring and practical guide to help you through the crucial first six months of parenthood.

    These strategies resolve one of parents' biggest frustrations: getting your children to listen and do what you ask, the first time you ask.When children are at their best, it is easy to get along with them and enjoy them. However, when they are defiant, argumentative or disrespectful, it is easy to get wound up, to argue back, threaten, nag or shout. If this sounds like the situation in your home too much of the time, then Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting is for you.When you use these strategies, not only will your children become more cooperative, but also more confident, self-reliant and considerate. Learning new skills like Preparing for Success, Descriptive Praise and the Never Ask Twice method can transform your relationship with your child in a short space of time and help bring the joy back into family life.Full of examples and real stories from parents, this book gives you clear step-by-step guidance to achieve Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting. These strategies work!Noel Janis-Norton is a learning and behaviour specialist with more than forty years' experience helping parents and teachers on both sides of the Atlantic. She has helped tens of thousands of parents and teachers learn effective techniques that can be used at home and in the classroom.